Latching onto a Slow Chemical
by HunterxK
Summary: Calaway hopes to break through to Kayla. With the help of his brother Glenn and some friends, they solve cold cases and save the young woman from a fate bigger than they ever imagined. Glenn plays a very big part in this story then I am going to lead on. No wrestling involved. Thanks for reading
1. LoSC Ch I

LATCH RE-WRITE!

"The fuck you you bring me to a club for Michaels?" Mark growled  
"Oh just have some fun for once in your life Calaway. Have a drink, find a pretty girl, dance a lil' bit. No need to be serious all the time, christ!" Shawn grabbed his drink and scanned the room, his eyes falling on a pretty blonde on the dance floor. She glanced at him and smiled.

"Speaking of girl," he smirked "Come on man, live a little." And with that, he was gone. Worming his way through the dancing crowd to get to the girl.

Mark huffed and turned to face the bar. Why was he here again? Oh yeah, he desperately needed a drink, thanks to the tough customers at work today that wouldn't get off his case. The bartender look up at him.  
"Bud." he answered flatly. The bar tender nodded and placed the glass bottle on the table after popping the top off with the end of the counter. Mark threw his head back as he took a drink from the bottle.  
 _"God I needed that"_ He finally relaxed a bit and turned around. He scanned he room slowly looking for his friends. Shawn was still on the dance floor, he had caught up with the girl,dancing to whatever song that was blaring from the DJ booth. He found Glenn on the other side of the room engaged in conversation with some girl. He laughed when she tried to pull Glenn out to the dance floor and his whole head turned bright red.  
"Glen dancing? Now that would be a sight I'd pay to see." he murmured. He took a sip and Shawn's words ran through his mind.  
 _Me dance? Ha! Wouldn't he like to see that._ Mark stopped in mid drink when he felt an strong presence in the room.  
"No I'm not dancing!" he heard to his right.  
"I had a long day on my feet and the last thing I need is to be moving around. All I want is a drink and a place to sit, you and Bri can go dry hump your men all you want." He found the body where the voice was coming from. A 5'6" girl was weaving her way through the crowd. Her two friends following behind. He felt his head thump when he saw her face. She looked familiar. He turned his attention away from them once they made it to the bar.  
"Come on Kay! Have some fun tonight." The blonde friend whined.  
"Yeah, you're always working!" The red headed friend said as she motioned for the bartender.

"Yeah I Know, but I don't want to be here at the moment. Now get your drinks and go." She glared at that them.  
"Pfft, fine whatever." the first friend huffed out.

Mark could feel eyes staring at him. No, better yet, boring into him.  
"Would you two stop eye fucking the man! Especially you Tiff, you're married now go!" He smirked as he sipped his beer, still not entirely focusing on them. The girls laughed and left their friend alone.  
"Hey, I'm sorry about them." She looked up at him.  
"Its no problem." he smiled. The bartender placed a root beer on the counter.  
"Thanks Nate." she sighed, her long, jet black hair fell around her face as she put her head in her hands.

"Long day Kayla?"  
"Unfortunately. Boss had me running around, clients are picky, but I love my job. Not to mention the 80 blocked calls from you know who." she shivered after taking a drink.  
"Hey baby." a deep voice sounded behind her, just when she began to relax. She froze. Not just that she froze for a second or two, she was completely rooted in her spot. Mark felt the nervous/scared-to-death energy she was giving off. And nearly dropped his beer. Nate eyed the man standing behind her.  
"Get out of here Dominic." he spat  
"Fuck off Nate." he turned his attention back to Kayla.  
"I said "hi" Kayla." he said, his voice was smooth but there was a twinge of annoyance in it.

"Bitch, why haven't you answered me or my calls." he growled, she said nothing.  
"She's done with you ass-wipe! Haven't you gotten that by now? Now leave before I get security." Nate raised his voice. The man's eye flared and he took out a 4 inch switch blade from his coat pocket. Nate only backed off slightly, anger still in his face and body language. Mark kept his eyes on the guy.  
"Lets go Kayla." she didn't move. She was sweating.  
"I said..." he growled, she shuddered "Lets go, now!" he reached out to grab her hair. Nate was about to fly over the counter when Mark stepped in between the man and Kayla.

"Outta my way buddy, this doesn't concern you."  
Mark looked down at him, he titled his head to the side, hoping to hear an answer from the girl.  
"Do you want him gone?" he made his voice as soft as possible, in hopes that she'd answer him. It was small, breathy, and feeble, but he heard her say "yes".  
He looked back to the man, and snarled.  
"Time to go asshole."  
"Why don't you mind your own business?" he flashed the knife in Mark's face and lunged slightly to make him flinch. Mark laughed and had caught the man's wrist and twisted it so the knife dropped out of his grip. He twisted his arm so it was behind his back, threatening to break. The man yelped and tried to break free, but being that Mark was 6' 10" and nearly 300lbs, there was no way that he would escape. With his arm still behind his back, Mark put him in a headlock with his other free arm, lifted him off the ground, and started to walk towards the door. The man kicked and squirmed the entire time, security gave them confused looks as Mark walked out the door with him. Once outside, Mark dropped Dominic on the ground, security appeared behind him.  
"He," he pointed to the man grabbing his arm. "Stays out, if he gets back in, I will put him in the hospital." Security nodded to wanting to question the muscular man,and forced Dominic to leave. Mark watched him turn the corner, then went back inside. He made it back to the bar, Nate was trying to comfort Kayla, but she was just staring at the bar counter top. He walked up to her.  
"You alright?" she didn't answer. She just swept passed him quickly walking out of the club. Once outside, she leaned against the red brick building,dug around in her pockets, pulled out a pack of cigarettes and lighter, and slid down the wall. Kayla pulled her knees up to her chest, she tried lighting the cigarettes but her hands were shaking. After a bit, Kayla lit the cigarette, took a drag, released a shaky breath, then just stared at the smoke. After 5 minutes her breathing evened out and a tear ran down her cheek. She stood up, she was breathing hard and her right hand clutched the root beer bottle. She closed eyes for a bit and the minute she opened them she saw red. Her teeth gnashing together, her breathing shallow, she let out a growl and chucked the bottle across the street. It hit a tree and exploded on impact.  
Kayla smirked at herself and watched the last bit of smoke leave the cigarette butt.  
"Damn...shit!" she threw the butt to the ground and ground it into the concrete.  
"Fuck you! I hate you." she said to herself. She pulled out her phone to text Nate to tell the girls she was leaving and that she would thank the man who helped her in person tomorrow night. She pulled out a black skull banana from her back pants pocket, tied it around her forehead, and headed home.

Across the street, Dominic sat parked in his black Pick-Up,he watched as she walked to her apartment, his hands gripped the steering wheel.  
"Fucking bitch!" He started the car and drove off.  
"You're still mine Kayla."  
-

Mark was standing in a dark corner in the back. Trying to keep his anger in check.  
A man a little taller than Mark walked up to him looking worried.  
"Was _that_ her?" Mark grunted in response. The man looked thoughtful for a second.  
"So what now?" Mark turned to face him, he lifted his sunglasses to his forehead. Showing that his normally green eyes, were neon red, matching the strobe lights in the club. The man nodded understandably and walked away.

As soon as Kayla closed the door to her apartment, she felt the beginnings of her panic attack. Her body began to shake and her lungs closed up and she tried desperately to breathe. Dominic's voice echoed in her mind, flashbacks of things he said and what he did to her. She clutched her head and tried to silence him. Every time she tried to run he tightened the invisible leach he had around her. The only reason she got away from him a few months ago was because he was picked up for public intoxication. Of course with his father being police chief, he got out rather quickly. All the pain he caused her was rushing back through her veins and skin.  
"God just leave me alone please." she cried  
"I'll never let you go." his voice so clear, almost like he had whispered the sentence right into her ear.  
"No more, please. I'm done!" Kayla staggered into the kitchen. Her blank eyes fixed on the knife sitting on the counter top.  
"Do it then! You'd be doing the world a fucking favor!" she could here the drunken disgust in his disembodied voice.  
She felt so numb...her right hand shakily reached for the knife.  
"Don't!" a voice shouted in her head. She realized what she was about to do, she dropped the knife.  
"No, no, no. Not again," she backed away from the counter, finally getting a hold of herself.  
 _Shower, then bed._ She took a deep breath and headed into her room.


	2. LoSC Ch II

It was 5:30 in the morning. Kayla was standing behind the open doorway to her deck. Too afraid to sit out on it, in case Dominic was outside looking for her. She had tossed and turned all night. Waking up in cold sweats thanks to nightmares infested with him.  
"Only 3 hours till work...no sense trying to sleep now." she said, quickly changing into her sweats and tank top and headed down to the building's gym.  
–

"Come on Michael's you can do better than that!" Mark teased side stepping circles around the hungover Shawn.  
"Glenn had a lot more to drink then you and he's doing better." Mark motioned over to Glenn who was doing pull ups, with headphones in his ears. Shawn tried desperately to land a jab on Mark. Thanks to the hangover, it wasn't happening. Shawn and Mark locked up, Mark saw the option to sweep Shawn's right leg, and he went for it, sending him crashing to the mat.  
"Uggghhh come on man! Not cool!" he groaned. Mark's laugh was dark as he shook his head.  
"Why must you two work out so early?" Mark helped the whining man to his feet.

"Cause we aren't lazy." Glenn said as he past by them. "Pick you two up at 9." he said as he walked out. Mark and Shawn left a few minutes later.  
~later that night~  
Just like last night, the club was packed. Mark took the same spot at the bar and watched Glenn and Shawn hit on and get rejected by several girls. He hoped Glenn didn't drink too much, it was his turn to drive them home. Nate greeted him by handing him a beer.  
"Is your friend alright?" Nate sighed and rubbed the back of his head.

"I hope so, she hasn't answered her phone at all today. Knowing her she'll be here though." Mark nodded. He checked out a few seconds later, trying to make sense of what was to unfold in the coming weeks...maybe even months. He finally came out of his own head when someone rushed passed him, nearly knocking him over. He was getting ready to beat the crap out of the guy when he realized it was a woman, he was completely calm when he saw it was Kayla. Her hair was all about her face and she looked pissed. Nate took one look at her and held up his hand before she could speak. He brought up a bottle of Jack Daniels, uncapped it, and placed it on the counter top. Kayla swiped it and chugged down the dark amber liquid. Amused, Mark raised an eyebrow at her.  
"Wanna take it easy there Kayla? Maybe get a glass?" he teased. Kayla turned towards Mark, still drinking. She stopped after about 5 seconds later. A quarter of the bottle was gone.

"Oh...hey Mark." she capped the bottle "Didn't see you there, how? I don't know. You're built like a fuckin' tank."  
"And yet, you almost knocked me over. I was getting ready to chew your head off."  
"Sorry, I had a rough day." She went to pull her hair away from her face, then stopped. Instead she pulled more strands to the side of her face.  
"I work for a Graphic Design company," Mark listened  
"I get my appointments from my boss and before I can sit d-" her phone vibrated against her thigh, she jumped. Her face went blank as she read the message. Once again she angrily barged passed Mark, storming out of the club. Nate sighed and ran his hand through his hair and Mark sipped his beer. The two knowing exactly who the message was from. Mark and Nate kept glancing at the door every few seconds. After 5 minutes, Mark could feel that she had calmed down a bit, he finished his beer and told Nate he was going to go check on her.  
Kayla was sitting under the tree across the street. She had drank 90% of the alcohol already and had tied the bandanna around her head. Her hair now neatly covering her ears. The smoke from the lit cigarette in her hand seem to have calmed her down. She looked up and saw him, he flashed her a small smile. Putting out the cigarette, she stood up, bottle in hand and walked over to him.

Anger that Mark had never felt welled up inside of him as he watched her. He was pretty sure that his eyes had changed colors. The familiar sound of an engine revving caught his attention. He turned his head and saw a set of head lights speeding towards Kayla. The anger dissipated when he realized what was about to happen. He tried to move but his feet were anchored to the sidewalk. HE called out to her, hoping that'd work.

"Kayla!" she snapped her head towards his voice and saw bright purple headlights in her peripheral.  
"Dominic?" her brain registered that the lights were headed her way and fast. She dived out of the way just in time, a second later her foot would have clipped the front bumper.  
Kayla frantically backed up into the tree she was sitting on a few moments ago. Her heart rate increased, her breathing became shallow, another panic attack was taking hold of her. She clutched at her chest, and was struggling to breath oxygen into her burning lungs. She never saw Mark running to her.

Mark watched her dive out of the way of the black pick-up truck. His chest tighten just as her foot cleared the bumper. The asshole driver never stopped. He ran over to her once she reached the safety of the tree.

"Kayla are y-" she was shaking like a Chihuahua and clawing at her chest, her eyes were a pale brown and fading.  
"Shit, its okay hun, I'm here. Its alright love. I'm here." Mark cooed in her ears he wrapped his arms around her.  
"I can't breathe, it burns."

"I know, don't talk. You have to breathe slowly."

Mark heard footsteps running towards them but he didn't turn around. He was focusing all his energy into bringing Kayla out of her panic attack. He was rubbing her back when her gasping turned into more of a choking.  
Kayla's mind raced. Dominic, her mother, her father...her baby brother. Memories that she had buried deep in her subconscious came back to her.  
"Dad..." she breathed out, and clutched onto Mark's shirt. "Dad.." Her choking turned into wheezing until she passed out all together.  
"Kayla?." Mark noticed the grip she had on his shirt loosened. "Kayla?...dammit. Well, at least she's breathing."  
"What happened!" a woman's voice shrieked behind him, making him jump. He picked her up and turned around to face the woman. She was wearing the club's security jacket.  
"Oh my darling Kayla." she placed her hand on her forehead.  
"Who the h-" the woman's eye shot up into his. Mark shut his mouth before he finished the sentence.  
" _I'm Rachael. Her godmother. Who in the hell are you?"_ she challenged him. She was 5' 6" and had dark brown eyes that burned through straight through him. He gulped and backed down from her intense gaze.  
"Friend of hers, I was coming out to get her and when she crossing the street a car alm-" her eyes darkened and her fists clench  
"Black truck? purple lights?" he nodded.  
"Dominic" she hissed. Rachael looked as if Mark was Dominic and was about to punch him, but she softened when she look down at her goddaughter.  
"She needs to go home."  
"I was going to do that, but Nate needs to know wh-"  
"I got that covered. You start walking that way" she pointed. "and I'll catch up." She was already across the street before he could protest. He started in the direction of Kayla's apartment. Her godmother caught up with him a few minutes later. She reached in Kayla's pocket for her keys when they reached her building.  
"Oh hey Rachael. Its been-What happened to her?" the older gentleman jumped up from his seat at the front desk. He looked deeply concerned for the young woman.  
"Its fine Bert." Rachael brushed him off, hurrying to get Kayla in her bed. Every time he looked down at the woman in his arms his chest tightened out of...sadness? Yeah he felt for the girl, she pretty much has a homicidal, stalker, ex-boyfriend on her case 24/7. But seeing her right now...not angry not freaking out...almost at peace...there was something safe in this.

Rachael opened the door to Kayla's apartment, Mark followed the older woman around and laid her on the bed when she opened the bedroom door.  
"Take off her shoes and jacket." Mark did as he was told, carefully removing her jacket and boots. Rachael came back with a cold damp wash cloth, She took Kayla's pulse and made sure she was breathing all right. She placed the wash cloth on Kayla's forehead and pulled the covers over her.  
"Alright she should be fine. I'd love to stay but I have to get back to work. Poor dear."  
"I'll stay here with her." Rachael raised an eyebrow at him.  
"I won't hurt her. Though if Dominic shows up I'm killing him this time." His green eyes flared red and his arms involuntarily flexed. She looked him over one more time, then held out her hand.  
"Rachael Todd." he took it and smiled.  
"Mark Calaway."

"So _you're_ the one who threw Dominic out on his ass last night."  
"Yes ma'am." he smiled proudly.  
"Then you'll be fine here. She should be fine in the morning." She started to make her way to the door.  
"Uh, Ms. Todd?" he stopped her.  
"Rachael is fine dear."  
"Rachael, Kayla kept saying "dad" before she pasted out. Does her father have anything to do with this?" She shook her head.  
"No, her father was a wonderful person. But...she's been through hell for years, and that's something she'll tell you about if you gain her trust. Take care of her." she left.  
Mark locked the door and walked back to Kayla's room. He stood there at the foot of her bed, his hand found the silver wedding band he wore around his neck. He let out a shaky breath when he pictured his wife standing in front of him.  
"This is worse than I thought." he felt her hand on his shoulder.  
"She needs you, she needs the both of you." He breathed in and looked down at his shoulder, nothing was there, she was never there, like always.  
Looking at Kayla he realized that Rachael didn't take off her bandanna. The bandanna defeating the cloth's purpose. He took it off, and moved her hair out of the way. He gasped when he saw the long scar that started from her temple and ran all the way to the outer shell of her ear. He placed the cloth back on her head. He noticed the air mattress on the right side, he pulled it to the foot of the bed.  
He texted Glenn to take Shawn home and that he would see him in the morning. He laid down on the mattress and groaned, closing his eyes.  
"I hope you're right Gracie." he fingers played with the ring.  
"I'm always right you big grizzly bear!" he chuckled at that. He opened his eyes hoping to find her bright blue irises staring at him. Instead, he was gazing up at the glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling.


	3. LoSC Ch III

1:33am~  
Kayla suddenly sat up in her bed. She was sweating and breathing hard. Without thinking she got up and headed straight for her balcony. She closed her eyes and gripped the railing as she took in the warm night air. She was calm, but her heart hurt, she could feel the holes and cracks that were getting bigger every day.  
Silent tears slowly rolled down her face. She opened her eyes to wipe them when she notice a black pick-up truck parked across the street from her apartment window. She quickly backed into her apartment, tripping over a pair of boots in her attempt to get back inside before Dominic saw her. But then it dawned on her.  
"I'm home? How did I get home?" she picked up the boots and went to put them in her closet when she notice that they were pretty heavy.  
"These...these aren't mine.." she turned to where they were laying on the floor. There was a rustle as feet poked out from the the corner of her bed. She screamed, dropped the boots, and grabbed the bamboo bow staff she used for training.  
Mark jumped up into his fighting stance, nearly slipping on the air mattress when he heard a scream. They were both breathing hard and staring daggers into each others' throats.  
"What are you doing here?" Kayla lowered the staff.  
"Making sure you were okay. Why'd you scream?"  
"Cause I saw your feet!" Mark cocked his head.  
"I live alone Mark. I don't expect to see someone's big ass feet on my floor, let alone someone sleeping on my air mattress."  
"Fair enough." he lowered his hands.  
"You were going to punch me?"she put his boots in the closet and set the staff in the corner.

" _ **You**_ were gonna whack me with a stick!" he raised an eyebrow and she laughed.  
"So how did I get home?" she sat on the bed.  
"I carried you, your godmother Rachael came to help."  
"Help?"  
"You don't remember?"  
"Remember wh-" she pictured herself diving out of the way of a truck, she was backing up into a tree, and grasping onto Mark. "Oh..right." She reached up to adjust her bandanna.  
"Where's my bandanna?"  
"I took it off, its on the dresser."  
Kayla turned pale an covered the sides of her face. He placed a large hand on her knee.  
"I won't ask. You can tell me when you're ready. Come on back to bed. Its almost 2 am."  
"I won't be able to go back to sleep for a while. I'm just lay down." Mark nodded and went to lay down on the air mattress when Kayla suddenly grabbed his shoulder. She looked scared and squeezed his shoulder. He patted her hand and laid next to her.  
"So why the glow in the dark stars?"  
"I've always loved stars. My parents would always tell me that when I was a baby I'd just stare up at the stars when they were outside at night. Mom had a photographic telescope and we'd take several pictures and hang the coolest ones up in her office. Dad and I went on camping trips and late night picnics to a clearing outside the city when mom would go to work. He'd teach me everything about space and how different mythologies regarded space. We'd be outside for hours..." she absentmindedly rubber her right shoulder. There was a happiness in her voice that he had never heard in anyone, he also recognized the sadness when she trailed off at the end. Mark waited for her to continue speaking, after a couple more seconds he heard her stifled sniffling. He pulled the covers over her and rubbed her knee.  
"Sleep."

 _"_ _Shit, gotta get home!" Mark was racing home on his bike, he was late for the surprise he had for Kayla. He rolled to stop at a red light. Wait...Kayla?  
"Why would Kayla be at my place?" He wondered. He realized he wasn't even remotely sure why he needed to get home. Lost in thought, Mark didn't notice the light changed, the bike sped up without him pressing the gas pedal. He tried applying the brakes,but his hands never moved._

 _Oddly enough, he wasn't worried about his body not responding to the signals his brain was sending. All he was worried about was if Kayla would like his surprise. He smiled to himself knowing that she'd probably loose her mind. He didn't see guy in the red pick-up run a red light. He felt a sharp pain in his side and everything went dark. He couldn't see a thing, but he felt his body fly off the bike, he felt his ribs puncture his lungs. It seemed like he was in the air forever, until he felt his forehead come in contact with the asphalt.  
"Daddy?"_

Mark sat up panting. His hands frantically running over his sweaty chest and head searching for blood, wounds, maybe a rib or two poking out from under his skin. Once he realized his person was intact he gained control of his breathing and rained his body in from the adrenaline rush the nightmare had caused him. He looked over to the digital clock on the nightstand and flopped back down on the bed. It was 6:30 am and all he wanted to do was go back to sleep. The only thing he could do was think about the dream. Anyone else would have ignored it and gone back to sleep. But in Mark's world, dreams always meant something. He wondered if it could be a glimpse into the future, it certainly wasn't something from his past. Mark thought hard about it. Only being able to picture the bike seconds before being thrown from it, and hearing a child say "Daddy?"  
He turned to look at Kayla who was covered head to toe in the sheet. He decided to follow her example. Mark pulled the sheet over his head and hoped to fall back to sleep for at 30 minutes.


	4. LoSC Ch IV

~  
Glenn was on his early morning run through the woods behind his house. And as always he came to the same clearing 20 minutes into his run. Funny, every time he got near the clearing, a weird feeling would come over him. Today was no different. Glenn sat down on a fallen tree, taking in deep breaths and letting them out slowly. He laid down on the tree, his long legs hanging off the sides, his fingers interlocked on his chest. He closed his eyes, focusing on every living thing's energy, searching for one that was different, like he did every morning. After some time, Glenn picked up an energy. It was weak, but it was there none the less. Sitting up, he looked around, spotting a little kid sitting at a picnic table. Glenn looked around again, looking for any adults that could be with the kid. But no one came for him. Glenn swung one leg over the tree and started walking towards him.  
"Hey kid?" the boy didn't respond, but Glenn could see the boy shaking. He picked up the pace.  
"Hey..." he softened his voice. "...are you alright?" He went to put a hand on the boy's shoulder when it fazed right through the kid's body. Glenn stumbled back a few steps. The boy's body looked as solid as the picnic table.

"Well, that's...different." Glenn took a deep breath and stepped in front of the kid and physically jumped back at the sight.

The child's face and shirt was drenched in blood. The right side of his face smashed in. The boy lifted his head, his one good green eye looking right through Glenn as if he wasn't standing right in front of him. The kid got up and walked through Glenn. He watched the boy walk away, limping slightly even with knee pads and shin guards on his legs. His arms and hands dangling a little lower then where they should be in proportion to his small body. And as quickly as he came, he was gone. Dissolved into thin air in front of Glenn's own two eyes.  
Glenn looked around and scratched his head, feeling much like a lost puppy.  
"Can't wait to tell Mark about this one." Still unsure about what the hell just happened, Glenn started jogging slowly, then broke out into a full run back into the woods.

"Are ya done yet?"  
"No."  
"What about now?"  
"No Mark."  
"How ab-"  
"Dammit! No Mark I'm not done! Shut up already and let me work!" Kayla snapped at Mark and went back to drawing, covering her ears with her headphones. Her attention fully on her sketchbook.

A few hours ago, Kayla was being bombarded by phone calls. Her boss called her to give her the day off, some how he heard what had happened to her and refused to let her come in. Now she had a three day weekend to relax. Then Nate and the girls from the other night had her on the phone for nearly a half hour. Rachael had her on the phone for over on hour. Mark took that time to snoop through the mass of drawings on her desk. Thoroughly impressed with her work, he didn't give her a second to breathe when she got off the phone. He immediately asked her to draw a logo for his company. Anyone he asked never seemed to capture what he wanted. She accepted after they settled on her payment being food, if Mark were to use it. So now, here they were in Mark's office. Kayla absorbed in her work, Mark on his computer, barely paying attention to his emails as he watched Kayla draw. Watching how every now and then she'd stop and grimace at her work and then erase very carefully. He raised his eyebrow every time she looked at him and tilted her head to the side. Her eyes slowing roaming up and down his form, only stopping when something about him sparked some sort of interest, as she quickly went back to drawing. He turned his attention back to the computer, running through his schedule for the day.  
Kayla cracked her neck and stopped the music.  
"All right, now I'm finished." Mark eagerly took her sketchbook.  
Kayla was stunned to hear him laugh. She watched his eyes roam the page for a few seconds. It was him, as a cartoon demon, horns protruding from the forehead, eyes rolled back, and tongue sticking out. "Deadman" written over his head and "Inc." written down the tongue. Mark smiled up at her.  
"I love it, It feels like me. I've had guys who've been tattooing for years not come up with something as good as this." Kayla smiled at his complement.  
"So why am I a demon?"  
"I don't know, you have a lot of fantasy tattoos, there's also this...supernatural-other worldly quality about you. I thought a darker character would be a good fit for you. Plus you run a gym, tattoo shop, and an automotive garage. A bunny doesn't really match any of that." Mark chuckled.  
"I like you gonna ink it?"  
"Mmmhmm, what colors do you want?"  
"Black and purple is fine." Mark handed back her sketchbook after Kayla took out her laptop, portable scanner, and pen tablet.  
'Hey bro! What do you what to eat?'Glenn mentally asked Mark.  
"Kayla? What do you want for lunch?"  
"Burgers."

"Alright, I'll tell my brother."  
"You have a brother?"  
"Mmmhmm half brother really, but we grew up together. You wouldn't know it unless one of us told you. We have the same mind set and personalities are slightly similar."  
Kayla smiled for a split second. Breathing out through her nose quietly hoping Mark wouldn't hear it. Peaking up at him, he was on his phone, not paying attention to her.  
Mark pretended to text Glenn as he mentally told him what to bring for lunch. He noticed the smile that quickly faded from her face, the breath she let out through her nose, the sadness that extended out to him just for a few seconds. They sat in silence for the next few minutes, the office phone broke the quiet.  
"What's wrong Sami?" Mark jerked the phone away from his ear as Sami, one of his best tattoo artists bitched about a canvas who wasn't cooperating with him.  
"Be down in a minute Sam!" he said quickly and hung up the phone.  
"Wanna come see the tattoo shop?" Kayla's head shot up like a puppy when asked if she wanted to go for a walk.  
"Yup, I'm finished anyway."  
"You work really fast." Mark opened the door and gestured for Kayla to exit the room first.

~~  
"Daniel I already told you! Timothy Richards had taken out a life insurance policy on his wife months before he attacked her. How was I suppose to know he'd try to kill her...No my powers don't work that way. I can see dreams not read minds Daniel, there's a difference."  
Glenn pushed the fast food restaurant's door open with his shoulder as he walked out. Phone in one hand, food in the other.  
"I have to go to the shop right now, so you can come over later tonight and I can sign the affidavit for you then."  
Just as Glenn was about to step into the parking lot, a small child ran out in front of him. Before he could grab him, the boy stopped and turned his head. Glenn saw the car and the boy's body cross paths, but there was no impact, no screeching of tires against the road from the sudden application of brakes, no gasps from horrified pedestrians. Matter of fact, Glenn was the only one looking at where the body should be crumpled up on the ground. Glenn just stared at the ground, completely forgetting that Daniel was on the phone.  
"Glenn? Hey big guy! Glenn!" he jumped and fast walked to his truck.  
"Sorry Daniel. I have to go, see you tonight." he rushed his friend off the phone. He placed the food in the passenger seat, leaned his head back against the head rest and closed his eyes. Letting out a long sigh. He opened his eyes to find the same boy standing in front of is car, staring at him. He gave Glenn a small smile and faded away.  
"Now would be a good time for mom to be alive to tell me why I'm being followed by a ghost child" Glenn started the car and backed out of the parking lot.

"You alright now Sami?"  
"Yeah I'm cool now boss. Thanks for the back up. Don't know why that dude was so hostile for." Mark shrugged his shoulders.  
"Do you have anymore appointments for the day."  
"Yeah three, should only take a few hours." Sami looked up at the door as one of his clients walked in.  
"And here's one of them now, see ya Mark."

Mark turned to see Kayla looking at JP's, the tattoo shop manager's portfolio, and JP staring at her hard. She'd glance at him when she would flip to the next page.  
"You look familiar...your eyes I've seen them before, in someone else. You know you see the same eyes in different people?" Kayla raised her eyebrow at him.  
"JP, must you get philosophical on every one?"  
"I'm not man. I'm serious, I know those eyes. I just can't figure out from who." Kayla looked at Mark, then to JP, and then back to JP's portfolio. Mark was about to say something when he saw his brother walk through the door.  
"Hey Glenn! Where's the food!?" Glenn shoved the bag into his brother's chest.  
"Man you won't believe the day I had. But why'd you leave me with drunk on his ass Shawn last night? He was singing for hours." Mark laughed as he munched on a few fries before speaking.  
"Kayla food's here! There was a situation that needed my attention." Kayla walked over to them. Glenn raised his eyebrow to his brother and quickly glanced at Kayla.  
"I'm guessing you're Mark's brother?"  
"Mhmm. I'm Glenn."  
"Kayla."  
'This is the girl from the club?' Glenn mentally asked Mark  
'Yeah, I'll tell you what happened later.'  
"Come on lets go eat upstairs."  
"One sec, I need to talk to JP." Kayla snatched a fry from Mark as she walked away. The guys watched her walk over to JP. Mark leaned in close to Glenn and kept his voice at a whisper.  
"JP thinks he's seen her eyes before."  
"Huh?"  
"He thinks he's seen her eyes in someone else. Normally I'd just write that statement off as him being his philosophical hippie self. But...something about her is very familiar."  
"Can you get a read on her energy?"  
Glenn's eyes changed from blue to neon green as he locked his gaze on Kayla. The energy waves around her were a deep red.  
'That's good, nothing dark about her' Glenn thought. But something caught his attention. Her eyes were glowing a bright scarlet red, but only periodically.  
"Mark, I think I know what JP means." Before Mark could question him, Glenn turned pale and his eye went wide.  
Mark's eyes changed color as he stared at the spot Glenn's eyes were fixed on. Mark's breath was caught in his chest at he sight before him.  
"Is that?"  
"Its Allistor..." Glenn breathed out quietly.


End file.
